Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham discusses Chinese threats
With the focus on the White House's tariff talks with China, you might have missed an issue between the two countries that's playing out in our back yards— U.S. land owned by citizens of our adversaries. The Texas legislature just passed a bill that would prevent Texas land sales to people from certain countries. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told me the state took up the issue when a Chinese official purchased property too close to a U.S. military site. 'We realized that that was really a mechanism for destabilizing our grid, causing problems for our bases,' Buckingham told me. Think this concern is bipartisan? Not necessarily. A couple states away in Arizona, the Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs just rejected a similar bill. While we watch President Trump deal with Xi Jinping, a reminder that issues involving China rest in the states as well.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
32 minutes ago
- Axios
D.C. schools are banning cellphones, joining almost half of the nation
D.C.'s public schools will enforce a cell phone ban starting next school year, the district said on Friday. Why it matters: D.C. joins nearly half the country in the bipartisan push to limit students' cellphone use in the classroom. D.C. middle schools and several of its high schools already implemented the ban, the district said. Catch up quick: Phone bans have gained momentum across Democratic and Republican state legislatures in recent years. Arizona, Arkansas and New York 's governors signed bills into law this year to implement bans. By the numbers: As of April, 11 statewide phone bans or restrictions were implemented and seven states issued policy recommendations, according to health nonprofit KFF. An additional 17 states introduced legislation to ban or restrict cellphone use in schools. State of play: The phone bans are aimed at boosting students' attention during class as they struggle to recover from COVID learning loss. Screen time is also partially at fault for a youth mental health crisis, research has found. What they're saying: "Piloting a phone-free program in our middle schools demonstrated that storing students' personal devices throughout the school day enriches academic, social, and emotional learning," Lewis Ferebee, D.C. schools chancellor, said in a statement. "From increased classroom engagement to reduced anxiety and stronger student relationships — DCPS is ready to scale the program so we can keep driving outcomes that positively impact our students." What we're watching: Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) reintroduced a bipartisan bill in February to study the effects of cellphones in schools, but the legislation has not seen movement since. The bill proposes $5 million annually for five years for a pilot program to provide schools with secure containers for the phones. It would allow exceptions for students with health conditions, disabilities and non-English speakers.
Epoch Times
32 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
Canada, China Agree to ‘Regularize' High-Level Talks After Carney's First Official Call With Beijing
Canada and China have agreed to 'regularize' high-level talks between the two countries following a call between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on June 5, the prime minister's office said. 'The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations, including the importance of engagement, and agreed to regularize channels of communication between Canada and China,' says a During the conversation, Carney and Li also discussed trade between the two countries, and 'committed their governments' to cooperating to address the fentanyl crisis, according to the PMO's statement. It also says Carney raised 'trade irritants' affecting agricultural and food products, referring to tariffs Beijing recently imposed on Canada. The statement also says Carney raised 'other issues,' without providing further details. The PMO confirmed to the media this was the first conversation Carney held with Beijing since becoming prime minister. Speaking further about the call, Carney said on June 6 that the discussion was 'the start of a process of recalibrating the relationship with China.' Related Stories 5/23/2025 5/3/2024 'They are our second-largest trading partner, the second-largest trading partner for Canada,' Carney said. 'We have a number of trade disputes with China. Farmers across this country, fishers across this country are being affected by Chinese tariffs. People across this country have been affected by fentanyl and its precursors. Those are issues I raised directly, and we spoke at length about our concerns there, and have initiated processes, including ministerial-level dialogue on trade and other issues. So there are important issues with China that we need to address.' Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew have asked Ottawa to engage Beijing to end its tariffs on canola products. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has in turn Canada-China Relations Ottawa-Beijing relations, already strained in recent years, have further deteriorated amid renewed trade tensions. China earlier this year Ottawa Beijing's latest measures include a 100 percent tariff on Canadian canola oil, oil cakes, and pea imports, as well as 25 percent levies on Canadian seafood and pork. Beijing says its tariffs on Canada U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said recently that the United States wants Canada to align with its policies on China. 'The President has made it very, very clear. The No. 1 challenge to America's security, to its safety and prosperity is China,' he said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. 'We're looking for, for people who will confront the challenges with China with us.' U.S. officials have previously Beijing-Ottawa relations began to deteriorate in 2018, when China Tensions rose further after intelligence leaks were reported by Canadian media outlets starting in late 2022 about extensive interference by Beijing in Canada's democracy. This prompted a public inquiry into the matter, which ultimately identified China as 'the most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada's democratic institutions,' according to the Foreign Interference Commission's final report published earlier this year. Omid Ghoreishi and Isaac Teo contributed to this report.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House officials to meet Chinese delegation in London for next round of trade talks
Senior White House officials will meet with a Chinese delegation in London on Monday for the next round of trade talks, President Donald Trump has said. The meeting comes after a phone call between Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, which the US president said was "very positive". Writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the London meeting "should go very well" and added that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would represent the US at the is unclear who will represent China. The two countries are at an impasse over tariffs and a dispute involving critical rare earth mineral exports, in which China remains the dominant producer. On 12 May, China and the US struck a 90-day deal in Geneva to pause retaliatory tariffs placed on each other since Mr Trump was inaugurated in January. The initial agreement prompted a global surge in stock markets and U.S. indexes that were in, or approaching, bear market levels. The temporary deal saw the US reduced its 145% tariff to 30% on Chinese also agreed to reduce its 125% retaliatory tariffs to 10% on US goods. However, sector-specific tariffs, such as the 25% tax on cars, aluminium and steel, are still in place. Since Mr Trump's re-election, the president has frequently issued threats of punitive trade measures against US partners - only to backtrack at the last minute. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
